Thousands flee Aceh Jaya floods
Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Aceh Jaya
Floods have spread in Teunom district, Aceh Jaya regency, since Monday following heavy rain in the district, located some 180 kilometers west of Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh. Due to the flooding, hundreds of houses in Teunom district were inundated by water, forcing thousands of local residents to take refuge elsewhere.
At least 24 subdistricts in Teunom district were affected by the flooding, which occurred at the end of the dry season this year.
The wet season is expected to start in most parts of Indonesia between October and November this year.
Aula Jamaludin, a local resident, said on Tuesday that the flooding was estimated to continue over the next few days, as it was still raining in the area on Tuesday. He said that the flooding stopped only on Monday night, but continued again on Tuesday. "Krueng Teunom and Krueng On Rivers swelled again due to rain on Monday night, leading to further flooding," said Aula, as quoted by Antara news agency.
Another resident Idwainy Saleh said that the flooding had paralyzed traffic between Banda Aceh municipality and Meulaboh regency. "Minibuses and jeeps could not pass some spots, and they had to be loaded onto trucks to pass the area," he said, adding that the water reached almost one meter deep in some areas between Banda Aceh and Meulaboh.
The flooding on Tuesday did not only inundate houses of local residents, but it also washed out hundreds of hectares of rice fields in the area. The flooding also paralyzed public transportation traveling between Meulaboh and Banda Aceh. Due to the flooding, six elementary, junior and senior high schools suspended classes.
Despite the severe flooding, an official at the Social Welfare Office of the Aceh provincial administration Burhanuddin said that he had not received any report on the flooding.
The flooding in Aceh came after similar flooding recently in some parts of North Sumatra province, including its capital Medan. The floods are quite unusual as they occurred amid drought conditions in many parts of Indonesia, including East Nusa Tenggara province and Java island.